Just look around. Anyone who works in the Valley for any length of time will have noticed the alarmingly large number of white guys occupying positions of power. There are a few women, and there are sizable contingents of Asian entrepreneurs among the entrepreneurial and venture capital classes. But there are not many women and there are almost no black or Hispanic entrepreneurs.

The White House photo of Barack Obama having dinner with a table full of Silicon Valley titans in February is the perfect illustration of this. Look at the table: It’s almost all white guys. There are two women, one of whom (I think) is the wife of the host, and the other of whom is Carol Bartz, then the CEO of Yahoo, who is known — and criticized — for being loudmouthed and aggressive. And there’s just one black guy: the President of the United States.

This picture is probably 100% representative of dinners among Silicon Valley’s most successful entrepreneurs and investors, except that the black guy isn’t usually there.

If you’re black, Hispanic or female, I can’t tell you anything about racism that you don’t already know. You’re going to need an extra dose of moxie, persistence and determination to make it here. You may want to consider, as Vivek Wadhwa did, hiring a white man to be the public face of your company. (Wadhwa also points up the importance of building your own networks.) These decisions will have to be up to you and whatever friends and allies you can recruit to your side.

But I can tell you what I’m doing about Silicon Valley’s race problem. And if you’re one of the white guys who run things around here, you should consider that you have a responsibility to do the same things.

I’ve hesitated about writing this post. But I decided I couldn’t keep silent about this, because one of my career goals, for the past 10 years, has been to make Silicon Valley more accessible to people like my daughter, who is both black and female. I hope this post helps advance that agenda.

So, here are my tips for white guys on how to fight racism and sexism.

First, educate yourself. You don’t know squat about racism or sexism. Period. End of sentence. So read. Watch movies. But most of all, talk to people. Find people who are trained in anti-racist education and invite them to educate you.

In my case, I have spent many, many hours in anti-racism seminars, educational programs about race and culture, and dinner table discussions with my family, extended family and friends. It’s a topic that is never far from my mind.

Second, make an effort to connect with people who are different from you. Make friends with people. Extend your social circle.

And really make friends. A friend once told me, early in my education, that the diversity of your circle of friends is best measured by who comes to dinner at your house. You may work with people who aren’t like you, but if you’re not having them over to dinner, you’re not really getting to know them.

In my case, work is now the least diverse part of my life. My family is multiracial, my kids go to a school where there are people from diverse racial and economic backgrounds, my neighborhood is all over the map, and I live in one of the most diverse areas in the country. It’s only when I start talking to PR people and Silicon Valley executives that the diversity level drops. But it’s taken me a decade of conscious decisions to get to this point.

Third, when you’re recruiting, widen the circle of candidates. Make decisions about who to hire (or invest in) based on merit. But make sure the pool is diverse, so you can at least make fair choices.

I try to follow this principle whenever I hire people. I’ve reach out to professional associations like the National Association of Black Journalists. I ask people I know to recommend talented women they know. I ask for help from my existing networks wherever I can get it.

Once I get that pool of candidates, I evaluate everyone on their merits. I’ve never given a job to anyone because I wanted to increase the diversity of my team. But I have gone to lengths to make sure that the pool of candidates is diverse.

This is, I think, the most important thing that white people in positions of power can do.

There’s a real benefit to this diversity, too, beyond some abstract notion of fairness. A diverse workforce is going to better at producing products that appeal to a broad range of customers.

And diversity breeds creativity. People who come from different backgrounds are more likely to have different approaches to problems, or different ideas. Bring them together and yes, there can be conflict and misunderstandings. But out of that conflict can often come much better ideas than you’d get from a roomful of people who have the same backgrounds.

Finally, be willing to talk about race. Realize that you are going to sound like a clueless idiot much of the time. But also know that for people of color, race and racism are constant topics of discussion. Race is an incredible taboo only for white, middle-class people. We are embarrassed to talk about it, or even to acknowledge it. But until we do, we can’t really learn.And yes, I am sure it sucks when someone holds you up as an example of white-guy cluelessness.

But when you refuse to talk about racism and race, whether from fear of embarrassment or out of ignorance, you can’t learn. If you pretend that it’s just a meritocracy, or that the problem is too mysterious to be addressed, or that you yourself are not racist, you can’t learn.

More importantly, you can’t do anything good about it.

I don’t expect that most white guys in power will follow these steps. It’s too uncomfortable and too difficult to do, unless you’re motivated by someone you love. But I can say that it’s something very much worth doing.

Somewhat hidden by his english adoptive surname.
Somewhat unnecessary because it actually makes the point of this post stronger, not weaker.

Anonymous

Jobs father was Syrian, a place that has been invaided by nearly every race in history (except Africans). As such, his father could have had primarily English, Asian, Iranian, Turk, Greek, or Arab blood.

Anonymous

>actually makes the point of this post stronger, not weaker.

Not at all. Jobs, like Dell and Gates, got there through intelligence and hard work – not because of some mythical “white skin privilege.”

Sjefferson

This is an excellent post. We all know that racism exist but as it was stated; that is just another “taboo” subject that most refuse to discuss or deny that it exist. This post does not suggest that anyone is hired or included because of race but how do you know if you are overlooking someone that would bring value to your team if they are not included. All four points were “dead-on”. Thanks for starting this meaningful dialogue…

http://www.MVTmedia.com James

I was just talking with fellow entrepreneurs on my very diverse team about this earlier today. It amazes me that this is still such a taboo subject among many otherwise educated whites. The world is made up of very smart, capable, creative, trustworthy people from all races. Doesn’t it just make sense to include them in your business and your life?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KKLG2ANWZN5L74JJPA2PCPDTBY David

It isn’t a taboo subject as long as you toe the politically correct line. It only becomes taboo when you point out that the ideology of multiculturalism and diversity is grossly unfair to whites.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

Um, I think you’ve somehow managed to totally miss the point. That’s not been my experience at all.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KKLG2ANWZN5L74JJPA2PCPDTBY David

It has certainly been my experience.

Anonymous

It becomes taboo when you point out that blacks score one standard deviation below whites on all large-scale tests of cognitive ability (IQ tests) that are controlled for ‘cultural bias’. The point is why do you expect to see a minority (about 10-12 percent of the population) who invariably score lower on standardized psychometric tests equally represented in a high tech area of the economy? This is about political symbolism. You have been conditioned to think that white ‘racism’ is responsible for all black failures or psychometric and behavioral differences. You think you are being ‘progressive’ by agitating for blacks to be selected for these jobs based, basically, on their race. Ironically, you are – in principle – doing the same thing a white who arbitrarily judges a black because of merely the color of his skin does.

http://twitter.com/annmariastat annmariastat

As a female, Hispanic business owner, I could not agree more with your post. If a white male seriously wanted to discuss racism and sexism in the tech sector with me, rather than deny it exists, I would probably find some of his statements clueless, but I wouldn’t think he was an idiot. I would be extremely impressed.

Anonymous

Maybe you’re the one who is clueless.

I don’t work in the tech sector, but I sure do buy a lot of products produced by that sector. Do you think that I as a consumer really care how diverse the tech sector’s work force is? Of course not! I want value at a competitive price. If the people who can produce what I want are all white guys, so be it. If it turns out that they are all wise Hispanic females, so be it.

Stop blaming “white racism” for your failures.

http://disqus.com Peter Mullen

So Silicon Valley has a race problem based this staged photo of an Obama fanboy fund raiser?? I think it says more about Obama and whom he chooses to invite to his $35K per plate fundraiser dinner. How many Valley non-whites can afford to be at this dinner? Hey Dylan, if you choose to look beyond the covers of this cherry-picked photo, you might find more than a few non-white males as more representative of the true diversity that exists in the ‘Valley’. If you are going to make inflammatory accusations, I’d personally like to see a little more in-depth study to determine if racism is truly rampant as you so strongly suggest here. What is the percentage of minorities in computer science, engineering and design programs at the top universities? Have you any hard evidence that VCs only tend to fund white male applicants as opposed to non white male applicants? Do you have any evidence to suggest that only white males are hired and promoted at fast growing tech firms in Silicon Valley? In my experience, I’ve seen a very high percentage of non-white and non-male people in companies including Asians, Indians, African Americans and Latinos, many of whom are women. This is not to say the are percentages are consistent with the makeup of the general population and should be looked at in more depth. To your points, and I do agree with them, more attention should be paid to seeking out a more diverse makeup when funding or building a company. However, I think you will find that the graduates, and I mean top graduates from top universities (they’re kind of the primary recruiting targets for tech companies around here) are not as diverse as we would all like them to be. Perhaps you need to get out a bit more as well.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

I wasn’t using that photo as my primary evidence, but rather, as I wrote, an illustration. My evidence (and it’s anecdotal I’ll admit) comes from “getting out a bit” over the past 15 years, as a reporter covering Silicon Valley and SF tech companies, interviewing scores of executives, VCs and founders.

I don’t think you’d find anyone seriously contradicting the claim that the vast majority of VCs and executives here are white, followed by a reasonably large contingent of Asians, and almost no women, blacks or Latinos.

But if you have evidence that minorities and women are more widely represented in these key positions of power, by all means, let me know.

http://disqus.com Peter Mullen

Thanks for your reply. My ‘evidence’ is not so scientific either. It comes from working in Silicon Valley for HP and several other companies starting in 1977. HP was an early pioneer in building a diverse workforce and clearly understanding and promoting these very important values. It also comes from a pretty rigorous event schedule (5-10 per week) including Women 2.0, Girls-in-Tech and other similarly themed organizations. Your comments about those in ‘positions of power’ is probably accurate but the tide is changing with several of the top VC firms and several newly funded startups increasingly populated with much more than your token non-while male demographic. I’ll respect your opinion and leave it at that. The dialogue is once again front and center. Let’s just hope it leads to continued progress instead of fading away into the background.

Fred

What a weird article. I had to check to see if it was from the Onion. Hang out in the Google restaurants, and you will see white guys are minorities in Silicon Valley. Merit, training and brains are the qualifications. If you want quotas, then there should also be quota limits on ethnic groups which are over-represented. that’s only fair, right?

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

Hang out on Sand Hill Road, and you’ll see a different picture.

Paul Michael Bauer

Middle class white males don’t talk about race, not because it makes them uncomfortable (project much?) but because they can’t say anything on the subject without getting a sanctimonious reprimand from some NAACP fanboi over how illegitimate their opinion is – ya know, on account of them being white and male and all.
You see, white males are uniqly unqualified to speak about or have an opinion on any topic touching race.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

As a middle class white male who has frequently discussed race, I have to say I don’t agree with you. I have never been reprimanded except when I tried to make a generalization about someone’s experience that I had no direct knowledge of.

MrCaleo

You’re trying way too hard Mr. Tweney. Mr. Bauer hit the nail on the head. And as far as making generalizations about someone’s experience, People of Color make generalizations about whites all day every day and they never get called on it. And if a white person dares to express an opinion out of step with the line of thinking espoused in your Mandatory Diversity training sessions, they will be labeled racist, Nazi, fascist,etc. You should know by now that white people are never right about anything, under any circumstances. Unless, of course, a Person of Color tells them they are.
Let me ask you something Mr. Tweney. Do you think Black on White crime is a symptom of Black racism? Or are you going to tell me that only whites can be racist, because that’s what your Diversity Auditor told you to think.
Black on White crime and violence has effected millions of white people since the late 60’s, a statistical fact quickly confirmed by a visit to the website for the F.B.I. or the Department of Justice. Will you call me a racist for pointing that out?
Mr. Tweney, most white people have no problem discussing race, but we don’t want to be called racists if, as a part of an honest discussion, we bring up the statistical reality of Black crime, both Black on Black and Black on White.
Of course I know I’m an evil bigot for even bringing any of this up, but if you are really serious about a real discussion about racism in this country you could be honest enough to bring violent crime into the discussion, and then we could have a real debate about who is really racist and who is suffering violence on a regular basis at the hands of members of another demographic.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

Excuse me, but this conversation was about entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, not crime. Perhaps you’ve mistaken this for some other blog?

Anonymous

LOL you are so naive, Dylan

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KKLG2ANWZN5L74JJPA2PCPDTBY David

Please explain why whites should give up jobs and career opportunities simply because we’re white, and especially when we’re poor or working class whites. Do Hispanics worry about whether or not they’re being fair to Anglos when they crowd us out of all the construction jobs? Are blacks deeply concerned that their over-representation in government employment might be unfair to whites? Do Indians care that they are taking jobs in IT away from Americans, almost all of whom are white?

It is easy to be progressive when you don’t have to worry about the practical consequences of progressivism. That’s for lower income yobs like me, isn’t it?

leonard west

David, First of all Native Americans are the true americans. The rest of us are immigrants from other countries. Typical arrogance.

MrCaleo

Sir, you are the one who created a post about racism and the steps us white guys need to take to combat this lingering horror.You reference the fact that you have gone through many hours of Diversity Training, and suggest all us white guys should do the same.
Can you for one moment take a step back and see how patently ridiculous it is that you feel the need to subject yourself to hours of lecturing by People of Color. In this supposedly deeply racist society, black men and women make six figure salaries lecturing deracinated whites about how we can not even own our own thoughts, but must subject our minds to a thorough reprogramming at the hands of these well paid consultants, who magically have a much more objective view of race than us poor white fools.
Can you explain why these supposedly honest assessments of race always focus on the minutiae of white malfeasance, and conveniently leave out the reality of violence being committed, on a daily basis, by a statistically significant proportion of the black community against whites.
Sir, there is an elephant in America’s living room, and it’s not the supposed horror of too many whites in Silicon Valley, but the real horror of shocking levels of violence being committed by a small subset of the general population against the majority of America’s citizens.
You need to stop telling white guys that we should genuflect at the altar of the Diversity Industry, and start talking about how the Diversity Industry can open itself up to a real conversation about race in this country.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KKLG2ANWZN5L74JJPA2PCPDTBY David

Mr. Tweney, have you personally ever experienced extreme racial violence? I mean the sort of violence that can result in serious injury or death?

Are you aware that tens of thousands of black on white rapes take place every year, while white on black rapes number in the double digits?

Are you aware that a black man is 60 times more likely to kill a white man than vice versa?

And have you ever been called “racist” for trying to talk about these things?

If not, I would suggest that maybe you really don’t have all that good an idea as to which views of race are taboo and which aren’t.

Anonymous

>while white on black rapes number in the double digits?

White-on-black rape is such a truly rare event that it doesn’t even show up in the statistics.

Anonymous

Dylan, that’s because you mouth all the politically correct platitudes.

http://twitter.com/zibbyz Pamela Day

Thank you.

Anonymous

“Finally, be willing to talk about race… Race
is an incredible taboo only for white, middle-class people. We are
embarrassed to talk about it, or even to acknowledge it.”

It is not embarrassment at all. It is fear of losing one’s job if one speaks the truth about it.

Please

And the majority of soldiers being killed in overseas adventures being waged by that same “lone black man” are white. But we’re not supposed to mention that because it’s racist.

Anonymous

“You don’t know squat about racism ”

What an ignorant piece of work. As a white who grew up in and lives in a black neighborhood, I know all about racism – anti-white racism perpetrated by blacks.

Are you one of those so-called “progressives” who has the naive and idiotic belief that blacks can’t be racist because they lack “power”?

I got carjacked and nearly murdered by a black man who called me a “white motherfucker” while he stabbed me nearly to death.

He didn’t need any kind of “state power” or “institutional power” or any other kind of “power” to qualify as being a racist. All he need was the POWER OF HIS KNIFE, the power of his hand and stabbing arm, and the power of his mouth as he called me a “white motherfucker” while almost killing me and leaving me with severe permanent pain.

It is the author of this idiotic piece that does not know squat about racism! Go move to Detroit or Gary Indiana or East St. Louis, you naive do-gooder white-guilt “progressive”!

Anonymous

There are few Blacks (or Africans) in science, because science requires high intellegence and Africans tend to have a low IQ. The different races evolved in different places and each race evolved a distinct set of traits. Some tall, some short, some fat, some thin, etc.

Africans are supurbly adapted for blocking harmful UV sunlight, but are poorly adapted for intellectual endeavors. There is not a single place on the planet where Africans live, that: 1) is not a total economic and social disaster, and 2) does not have an Asian/Jewish/White vs. Black academic, career, crime, & wealth-gap.

It’s diversity, and we should celebrate it, instead of agonize over it. Each race has unique advantageous and disadvantageous traits.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

I think your comment here makes your position pretty clear, ILOVEMYRACE. That and all the other comments you’ve been upvoting.

Anonymous

And we notice that you cannot refute him.

http://jewamongyou.wordpress.com/ Reuben H

“Second, make an effort to connect with people who are different from you.”

I would suggest connecting with various posters at American Renaissance or my own blog, jewamongyou at wordpress. We are probably different from you and we can teach you well-established facts that the entrenched establishment will not tell you. This would bring true diversity into your life and broaden your horizons.

David Owens

Apparently, whites are the only people we can have too many of. Is India eager to share its IT jobs with white Americans?

I’m a working class white. One night on my way to work, two drunken blacks followed me for two blocks shouting things such as, “Come back here, you white m**********r, we’re gonna beat your a**!” Catching up with me, they knocked me to the ground and proceeded to stomp me. I’ve had rocks and bottles thrown at me while walking through black neighborhoods. I was once given a badly needed promotion, and removed from the job a few weeks later because a black employee who wanted the job threatened to sue for discrimination. My present employer told me off the record I got my present job because my BA made me a bulletproof hire, i.e. it greatly reduced the possibility of being sued for discrimination. The job description only required a high school diploma, typing skills and some general office experience. I needed a BA to get a job that otherwise would have gone to a black with only a high school education.

I think I have a very good idea of what racism and racial discrimination feel like. Try to understand that there are an awful lot of people on the other side of the median income whose experience of multiculturalism and diversity haven’t been quite as idyllic as yours.

Chris

So, assuming there is an over-abundance of white males in the area, is that really a problem? White people cannot mind their own business without being racist? First, who are you to decide when there is too much homogeneity of race in an area? I would love to see you go to the west side of Philly and tell those neighborhoods that they’re “too black” and you need to see some white faces. Even more, make a news article with “steps” for them to take to understand whites. But anyways, why stop here. Why not make an article on hispanic enclaves in Los Angeles county? Why not criticize them for speaking their native language, which might alienate English-speaking whites and make them feel unwelcome. Additionally, assume that racism is the culprit, and label them as so for living among their own. Who are you to decide what is the appropriate demographic make up for an area? On that note, if your true goal is “diversity”, how do you know whose to blame for the racial make-up of the neighborhood? Is every white community racist just because it’s white. And why play it safe by blaming it on whitey (common enemy), instead of being a true intellectual and think out the facts. I swear, white people like you are the white equivalent to “uncle toms.” Plus, with the continually shrinking white demographic of America, articles such as these are becoming even more and more inappropriate by the minute. People like you aren’t going to be truly satisfied until either there are no more whites in America; or until whites live on sparsely populated “reservations” like Indians. You should be embarrassed by how idiotic the notion of this article is. The fact that you can write an article like this in a modern society and NOT have it stand out, just shows you how crazy and blind mainstream America is. But I have hope, who knows, maybe in the next generation your current thoughts will be viewed as not only racist, but even taboo.

VikingManx

White Uncle Toms. Genius. This is exactly what liberals have become. They will soon be a self-hating minority in the lands their fathers bled for. Shame….awful shame.

Anonymous

We know that Racism and not low IQ keeps Minorities out of Silicon Valley, otherwise we would see lots of high IQ races, such as Jews, Chinese, & East Indians working there. But there are virtually no Jews, Chinese, or East Indians working in Silicon Valley, thus demonstrating that Minority people of high IQ are blocked from Silicon Valley by racism.

Silicon Valley is far too competetive to care about skin color. Business owners will hire the smartest, hardest-working person for the job, no matter what race, culture, language, religion. That is the key to success.

Africans (in general) make very, very bad scientists and engineers. I have seen a few, but they are moslty mixed-blood, and are obviously at the far right of the African bell curve.

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

If you’re capable of making generalizations like this, I don’t think most people would see any point in arguing with you.

Chris

Oh yea and this: “Race is an incredible taboo only for white, middle-class people. We are embarrassed to talk about it, or even to acknowledge it.”

Speak for yourself. You talk about generalizations….but then generalize for a whole race. Sorry to say, but you do not represent me. Growing up white and unprivileged on Milwaukee’s northside, you know nothing what it’s like. You assume that every other white person on this planet is just as clueless about race as you, because the only time you saw black people growing up was when your pops was watching football. It’s not the same case for a vast majority of whites, and to imply that everyone is as embarrassed as you and only minorities aren’t is, well, again…..racist. I know you probably didn’t think about race ’till you got to college and read your first sociology book, swallowing every word of it unquestionably; but, please, please don’t assume that other whites are as clueless as you. Furthermore, refrain from being our “Race Representative” to the world. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MarcusCMarcellus?feature=mhee She Was Kinda Hot

The last thing this Stalinist lunatic wants to do is “talk about race.” The absence of a certain group from certain professions, organizations, etc, is not evidence of malevolence from its members but apathy from those who do not participate. The fact that blacks shun science is not anyone’s fault but their own.

I wonder how many Chinese, Africans or Arabs stay up at night worrying about the lack of diversity in their mists. Whites must be cured of this pathogen or Western Civ will be eclipsed by an alternative which will not include such kind treatment to outsiders, mush less science, technology, human rights, etc…

http://twitter.com/WhoAmi80 Who Ami

I don’t think that I have ever read anything as sanctimonious as this article.

Palouse8040

“Diversity breeds creativity”. Aside from the weird fancy that creativity is bred, this satement ignores
the history of the West over the last 5 centuries.

Anonymous

Is “diversity” what fueled the economic expansion of the US and the UK from the 18th through the 20th centuries? Of course not. It was inter alia the de jure establishment of property rights, freedom of association, currency backed by precious metal, and rule of law.

If “diversity” is so damned good, then why must it be imposed upon us literally at gun point?

VikingManx

Wait till white men stop believing in Genesis and start believing in Darwin instead. This will happen as our nations sink into third-world depravity via unlimited non-white immigration. People who spend significant time with NAMs are far less altruistic towards them than those who grow up in the few remaining Whiteopias left.

Some of us follow HBD like Medieval knights chased the holy Grail.

The Left should leave the Bible-bashing alone. Creationism is their only real ally on the Right.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EUCOJCAJ5XBH6273I6T2KNRI4Y Anonymous

First, educate yourself:

I have, perhaps you should, too. I know about affirmative action and reverse racism. Don’t you think it is unfair that I know a black kid that got a full academic scholarship to Yale with a 3.6 from a Detroit public school, and I know white kids who got a 4.0 and a 33 on the ACTs and were denied? Unless you are about 90+ years old you know nothing about racism.

Second, make an effort to connect with people who are different from you:

So I am a racist unless I have X amount of black, Asian, Hispanic friends? That makes sense. I hope I don’t need to go any further than that.

Third, when you’re recruiting, widen the circle of candidates.

The circle is a wide as the requirements. If I need someone with ten years of experience and only two black women apply but only have three years experience each, too bad. You think I don’t turn down white people that are unqualified?
Finally, be willing to talk about race
I will answer this below.
Notice the writer of this article answered about 1 out of every 7 posts so far. It’s because he had no answer for the other ones.

If diversity is a strength, how and in what areas? Did you read the Harvard article about how it isn’t? Google it.

If you want your daughter to work in Silicon Valley tell her to work hard and go to graduate school the like rest of us.

Your average white worker will get fired immediately just for even acknowledging race, is that fair?

America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. Do you think people should be hired based on merit or skin color?

It is no longer viable to blame legacy of slavery or colonialism. India and Hong Kong were colonies and are thriving. Go back long enough and everyone was enslaved at one point. Look at the Roman Empire, Han Dynasty, Ottoman Empire, the Timurids, and the Golden Horde and 99% of all people on earth have a “legacy of slavery”. YOU were never enslaved. I have ancestors that were too, btw.

People are at a point where skin color does not matter, but merit still does. A White or Asian would hire a six legged blue skinned person if it gave them a competitive edge and helped the company succeed. Do you really think white men would rather let their company sink into the ground than hire a few women or minorities? If you really believe this you are beyond help.

Please try and debate me about how it’s not genetics, I could use a laugh.

Anonymous

What an arrogant, clueless idiot

Anonymous

Dylan Tweney:

According to your bio, you went to Williams College in Williamstown, MA.

According to city-data dot com, Williamstown, MA. is 83.9% white and only 2.6% black.

The demographics of the students of Williams College, according to stateuniversity dot com:

90.4% white, only 3.1% black.

What city do you live in now Dylan? Do you still live in Williamstown?

You probably live in some super-white sheltered wealthy liberal enclave like most liberal hypocrites.

Move to Detroit or Flint or Newark or Haiti. You are a hypocrite. Where you live is far too white for the sake of political correctness. Move to a black-run, black-majority city or nation, you typical “progressive” hypocrite.

Trench_Raider

Love the screen name for what it’s worth.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KKLG2ANWZN5L74JJPA2PCPDTBY David

This is about race in general, Mr. Tweney. Here I am down here on the ground having to deal with the issue of racial violence, and there you are up there all upset because, in your opinion, there are too many white people in Silicon Valley. If you want to talk about race, let’s talk about race. Don’t limit it to your narrow upper middle class experience.

Anonymous

Golly fellas, isn’t it such an amazing coincidence that the two most liberal “progressive” major cities in the USA, Portland and Seattle, are also the two whitest major cities in the USA? I’m so shocked!

Jasonfoxfire

test

Jasonfoxfire

None of the people in the picture are White. They’re all Jews. Look at the shape of their noses. The shape of their faces. Their lips. All their facial features. I can not detect a single White person in the photo. Every one of the is a Jew.

Anonymous

Oh really? Including the ones whose faces are not even visible?

You, sir, are a dumbass.

Anonymous

There is a book called ‘The Bell Curve’ by Richard Hernnstein and Charles Murray. It’s been around for about 16 years now, I think. Pick up a copy and read it. Blacks have enough hucksters and hustlers to complain/lobby/agitate for them. You are embarrassing yourself when you aid them in this project. Why don’t you stop aiding in the late white dispossession? You’ve spent many hours at ‘anti-racism seminars’ and learning about different cultures? You must be using ‘culture’ in the widest, anthropological sense. This is understandable; you’re probably half-educated like most folks who are the product of the modern university. Start learning about Western culture and identity and stop celebrating and exacerbating non-white depravity and resentment.

http://twitter.com/dan1eljsummers Daniel J. Summers

I must agree that the absence of a minority from a group of people does not indicate a bias against that group. As an example, why are there so few Arabs in the NBA? People should be utilized to their strengths. Other than the assuaging of “white guilt,” what are the tangible benefits in selecting for or against a particular race?

Take me, a white guy, and Snoop Dogg. (An unlikely pairing, true…) Since whites are underrepresented in the gangsta rap genre, we’d bring more diversity by having me on the mic, and Snoop on the sound board. But, I can guarantee you that we’ll be more successful the other way around. Does this illustrate racism on the part of the music industry? Maybe – but throwing a little Occam’s Razor in the mix, maybe it’s the fact that Snoop is better at rapping, and a nerd like me would be better on the mixer.

Back to Silicon Valley – you mention Carol Bartz. Have you heard anyone crowing about how successful Yahoo was because her plumbing was different? But, let anyone suggest that it’s lack of success was for that reason, and they would (rightly, IMO) be told that they were being sexist. 8 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women, last count I saw. Can’t say that I really cared.

The correct term for what CNN has done is not “starting a dialogue”, it’s “race-baiting.” You mentioned that you’ve consulted with the National Association of Black Journalists – that’s great; but, can you even imagine the existence of a National Association of White Journalists? What if I tried to join the National Association of Black Journalists – would I be denied? I joined the Black Student Association when I was in college; they were suspicious, but I assured them that rather than talk, I was going for action. I ended up being the Secretary the second semester.

In my experience, actions speak louder than words ever can. Making a difference is much more effective than making people feel shame. Concessions granted out of shame will always lead to resentment; and, if I had to pick one work to describe the negative comments above mine, that would be the word. We had a sneak peek when now-Justice Sotomayor’s comments about a “wise Latina” came out. A large number of people asked themselves “What does ones race have to do with interpreting law?”

Come to think of it, out of my 5 best friends, 3 are black. Maybe I do need diversity classes.

Trench_Raider

>>>>Finally, be willing to talk about race

The problem is that I would be willing to bet that you really don’t want to talk about race…..at least not if the discussion is not on your terms. I’m more than willing to talk aout race. But the problem is that minorities and self-hating White leftist hand wringers don’t want to hear my side of it.

Anonymous

There are still white males getting jobs!!!!!!! Emergency, emergency. Something must be done to stop this.

Trench_Raider

So Mr. Tweney, are you a bit suprised at the almost 100% hostility your article is recieving in the comments? You should not be. The thing is, that many people are begining to tire of the diversity cult and things like the myth of “White privlage” being shoved down our throats on a daily basis. We are sick of being smeared as *cue scary music* eeeevvvilll baby eating racists with little or no justification. And we are quite tired of the hand wringing of self-haters. What you are seeing is a backlash from the dispossessed and demonized majority that was bound to come.

The thing is that the smear of “racist” (whatever that word means today…) has become todays version of the “n-word”. It’s a nasty little term that is designed to menace, dehumanize, marginalize, and silence a group of people: Whites, especially males. The difference is that “racist” has lost much of whatever meaning it ever had through abuse, mis-use, and over-use by cynical minorities and self-hating Whites who pretend (yes I said “pretend” because these folks don’t believe half of what they say) to see evil baby eating racists under every rock. Thus articles like yours are starting get sneered at rather than taken seriously.

They don’t make psychiatric medication strong enough to help your massive case of liberal white guilt.

Henkbielderman

I must admit that I am flabbergasted at the intellectual vacuity of the article posted by Mr. Tweney. If he sets himself up as a reporter the only advice I would be able to offer is that he seriously considers a change of career. Mr.Tweney I mean you no personal disrespect but you really have to stop trying to create a Utopian ideal which is really only a figment of your politically correct imagination. There seems to me to be a certain madness that is present in the content of articles like this one and one comes across this sentiment everyday! I am positive you are avery nice man but you really are wandering around in a word that has no basis in reality. In your misguided attempt to foist on people a form of political indoctrination all you are doing is displaying a grasp of some misguided idea of the solution to what you perceive to be the ills of the world. You state that your daughter is black and yet you pass yourself off as a white man and presume to lecture whites on their inherent failings! How very cheeky! May I suggest you address your sentiments on racial harmony to the black community and see what type of response you get! Should a black man have the ability to perform at the level that is required by any businessman he will most certainly be hired. Similarly, your daughter should also only attribute her hiring to her ability and not her skin colour or are you prepared for her to go throigh life knowing she was not hired on merit but only on hired because she is an ”Affirmative?”

http://dylan.tweney.com Dylan Tweney

Thanks for sharing your opinions, everyone. This has been very illuminating.

Trench_Raider

You’re welcome. Thanks for allowing us to comment. You would be suprised how many folks with a wold view similar to yours will tolerate no disenting opinions. Try to post as a conservative on the Media Matters site or any of the big leftist blogs and you’ll see what I mean. (Your shelf life before being banned and your post deleted can usually be measured in minutes)

The real question is did any of this sink in or make you re-consider your stance? if not, then how do you explain the 90%+ negative reception to your article other than an inidcation of an increasing backlash against pushes for more self hatred amongst Whites?

I am a two time Silicon Valley CEO and I would be honored if you would compare me to the coach of a top NBA team. I want to win. I am always trying to hire the absolute best and the brightest. In Silicon Valley the difference in outcomes between high achievers and regular people is enormous. Some of our best programmers are worth 20 regular programmers. All in all, think of Silicon Valley as the NBA for engineers.

I am always looking for a leg up on my competition. I would hope that my competition would blunder and ignore a specific group of highly talented individuals, because then I could hire them. Up til now I have not found this to be the case.

All in all – you sound like an “outsider” to me who is reporting based on optics, rather than one who is in the trenches trying to grow a business.